Strip chart holder



st ipt. 27, 1949'. V J WALTERS 2,482,818

STRIP CHART HOLDER Filed Jan. 16, 1946 "Frank J. Walters.

1 invention ra-ates iii iiiroi rfieiits m 'fiue'tocfrbw .5 proved strip chart [homer-T61 use in sriiall 'air- :"tachinent'of Patented Sep 2 19 9 u e .e i i liii clgpits rthe at;-

' -craft. r pilot is a expedierit. :Arpilot gums/tq'i'ave pbs'itiyecontroloF'hisairchaigkholders -Lcraft t nt time tiherflight. Tins-requires o 'able'iahel the use of at leas" one hand and both feet= ai1d "u' nneri as requires :al'so exdllht:visiorr-of'the surrourlling I urnin of. he Holder I area or of thei' trument panel. Charts are difii- I cultltolusef sma11-.airp1anes. 'Ihisis due -to v uiiro' uea flight'iilitiesiirequiredofthe pilot whileus'ingthe f0r"u'se by pilots ohar tfi-the flarge sizeaof the fcha'rt, =the' lac'k'of" a 1, a -.'-suitable .holdezg and to the; ask-of position rmai'kers and mileage-indicators. Under 'fir'esent *contlitions a pilots-attentiom-must be directed tie a ea-i em- I p aridjiractical d lgylorrehahd llda ae'asilyayail- Ifiing' necessary fto. locating; andrunfolding the- V chart, "rquir'i'fig jboth hands ancluseof eyes for lengthy'pi'iods I locating. the desiredvohart data. -31hi's is obviously I a poor. system: and; is-an annoyance am danger- I r 7, l v. -,,:-I "'I' I II v I I "It isfttsi ufju the; r tl1i s, vention to o s, e pe i l y while flying "on ins r -icir6x i"de emit holder adaiitewfor attachment artsmay n t e un deih o to the thigh. of an oper duerto theinrestriction -o theiailot'svisiom "This fi6 fij? means-a. fchar't;tiriust bet fire-folded--before the ,KfiightNaIidL-cofit I ma y re folded during'flightto locate, the section ljuired. -Aclditional 'difiiculty" encountered g'iiuri I g folding is the effect of ;-slip'- streams and ,cockijitdrafts-onthe -chart. This sometir neslea'vrls to alossLof the char-tor complete runfoldingiflthe 'c fiit obstructing all vision. W

No suitableholder sjprovi'ded in most small yplanes. If vseveral "charts are carried the pilot t rmust search throughthe iii'ap -case until he lqcates the I proper chart. .This case is usually fina'ccessibile and: requires the 'release'ofs'houlder itan 5am I n, but with a strip 5f iitittut ng line .2 2 of :straps and-' behdihg'flowninto the ockiiit. "Mile- 55 Flgure an t k Fig'u 3 is t W io f the deyice the reference "age and position is guesswork under "the 'Srsrit :system. Dividersand scale "markers are seldom if'tevler Usedas-they-require two hands. Mileage :scaleslare located at theiedgesofeharts ahdjar'e III usually folded uniie'r. r means the sip-an 'planepilot never knows his ex a'ct position-uhless arlandmark is'lsighteol. r I

;;1lj/ Iany flex/finesilzwe laeeri pi I both :automobiles aand 'airpla es I I MI I, do away ,with theapnoblems discussed aate. 2'5 E Mi Prior inventors'have?fieve1oped devices to Beat 9 $553. 1 t? E -19 tacheol to structural :parts and ieveh'tothe pilots T} 2W 1 body. Such devices have-included pads for imfikbflt t s 0. ing navigational problems, fiat-charts, and other H navigational data. ,Theprior art has also co'fi to lagng I L W 'li l kflfi templated the use 'ofist'rip maps mounted on 'fii pd-to 'the thigh O an opemt rollers as a navigational aid. Before my iiiVe'ntion, none of the devices of theclas's described eitheralon'e orin combination, has practical a solution; as to come into extreme outboard ends of the supporting strip 2 so that a strip chart may be movably positioned between the transparent shield 5 and the supporting strip 2. The shield memberfi iscurved at each end forming a broad substantially U-shaped, band and thus providing supporting arms 8 and a rectangular surface area, as shown.

Close to each corner of the rectangular top surface of the shield 5' a roller supporting loop is attached. Each of'thefour supporting loops comprises a head'm'embenilto which is attached a short rod H) of a suitable thickness. The rod l0 passes throughv the shield 5 and the head member 9 is welded or otherwise secured to said shield and rounded to conform to its curvature, as may be seen in the drawing. Rods ID are then bent 'into loops, thus forming bearings for rollers I I. Rollers l I are supported in the supporting loops as shown. The rollers l l are provided with slots l2 which 'areadapted to receive the narrowed ends of a strip chart l3 as shown in Figure 3. Each of the rollers l I, is also provided with a manipulating knobv [4' at one end and with a groove l5, close to'the other end. The groove l5 serves as a seat for'a rubber band 16 which keeps the roller mechanism aligned and causes simultaneous movementnofiboth rollers when either is turned. Etched upon the face of the shield 5 is a position marker line l I anda mileage scale l8, as shown. r

The supporting arms 8 liavecut-out portions 59 of such a shapaasto conform. to the thigh of the operator and to cooperate with the leg clamp l in providing a wide area of ,support for the device. 1 a I In operation, a'strip chart such as that best shown in Figures 431M155 is prepared to cover the approximate path of a projected flight. The chart i3 is rolled upon one of the rollers -l I- and the free end inserted between the shield .55 and the supporting strip 2. The free end of the strip chart is then inserted into the slot 12 of the'sec- 0nd roller. The device described above is clamped upon the thigh of the'pilot where it may be easily seen and manipulated, as shown ,in Figure 4. During the flight the pilot, by manipulation of either of the knobs 14 (which can be done with one hand) can keep his present position on the position markerfline l1. The mileage scale l8 makes data concerninglandmarks, distance covered, etc., easily available. 7

One of the reatest advantages achieved by my invention is inthe cooperation of the arcuate cut-out portions ,lQ of the faceshield with the leg clamp l to provide multiple point support. This resultsin acomfortablyworn strip chart holder which will not easily;change its position when in use and thereby overcomes the problems which resulted inhlimiting the use of such devices in the past; L V Y :1;

The embodiment shown -is made, entirely of transparentpplastic material. The face shield member must, of icourse be transparent, but all provide extended operator.

other parts of any strip chart holder embodying the principle of my invention, may obviously be made of any suitable opaque material.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example, of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangementfof parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of this invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

The invention described herein may be man ufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What I claim is:

1. A chart holder comprising a resilient U- shaped clamp member for application to an operators limb a transparent shield member suitably fixed to said clamp member supporting means at each end a of said ti'ansparent shield member to hold said shield member spaced from said limb, and means for 'adjustably securing a chart under said transparent shieldmember, said supporting'means having concave ends to contacts with the limb of said 2.v A chartholder comprising a resilient U- shaped clamp member for application to an operators limb, a transparent shield member suitably fixed to said clamp member, said transparent shield member 'havihg'curled ends which form integral supporting legs to-hold said shield member spaced from said limb, and means for adjustably securing a chart under said transparent shield member, said supporting legs being adapted to cooperate withsaid clamp member to provide multiple point support for said transparent shield member upon the limb of said operator; f V r 3. A chart 'holder comprising a resilient U- shapedclamp member for application to an operators limb, a transparent sh-ield member suitably fixed to said clamp membensaidtransparent shield member having curled Lends .which form integral supporting legs to hold said. shield member spaced from said limb, and means for adjustably securin a chart under said transparent shield member, said supporting legs having arcuate cut-out portions at their extremities to provide extension contacts with the limb of said operator. U H 1 4. A holder for strip charts comprising a resilient ,U-shaped clamp member for application to an operators, limb,5a transparent shield member suitably fixed to said clamp member; supporting means at each end of said transparent-shield member to hold said shield member spacedfrom said limb, said supporting means being adapted to cooperate with said clamp member to provide multiple point support for said. transparent shield member upon --the limb of said operator, and rollers suitably supported beneath said transparent shield, said-rollers being adapted to support and manipulate a strip chart.

' 5. A holder for strip charts comprising a resil ient U-shaped clamp member} a transparent shield member suitably fixedto said clamp member, said transparent shield member comprising a flat face surface and downwardly dependent end portions, bearing loops dependentfrom said face surface, roller. members rotatably' mounted in said bearing loops and adapted to support and manipulate astrip-chart; said downwardly.

dependent end portions being adapted to serve as a supporting means and cooperating with said clamp member to provide multiple point support for said transparent shield member upon the limb of an operator.

FRANK J. WALTERS.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Kelso et a1 May 10, 1889 Johnson Aug. 4, 1919 Woodhouse Sept. 26, 1922 'Schaefler May 28, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 30, 1905 

